NEWS
Last week in this column we wrote about a late-night
flight coming into Eugene Feb. 23 that was diverted to
Portland. It took a few tries before we found someone to
talk to at the Eugene Airport, but it appears we talked to a
fellow who was ill-informed. The flight did not arrive after
midnight so the tower was still open, there actually was a
malfunction of the Automated Surface Observing System
at the airport. ASOS is owned and operated by the Federal
Aviation Administration, not the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. And city taxpayers do not pick
up the tab for overtime when the tower is asked to stay
open after midnight to accommodate delayed flights. The
airport is owned and operated by the city but has a “self-
supporting enterprise fund” from fuel taxes, parking fees
and other revenues, according to Cathryn Stephens,
deputy director of airport services. One thing we did get
right: “Ultimately it is the pilot’s decision on whether to
land,” Stephens says.
Eugene Weekly’s free Spring Wellness Summit will be
from noon to 6 pm Saturday, March 29, at Cozmic, 199 W.
8th Ave., sponsored by International Fitness and 20 other
local businesses and health care providers. Bev Smith of
Kidsports will be among the speakers, and the event
features fencing and martial arts demonstrations, organic
makeup makeovers, group yoga, live music and much
more. Booth and table spaces have all been reserved, but
for more information, call 484-0519.
Urban Waxx is a Portland-based company that does
nothing but body waxes and the company will be
expanding into Eugene with a store in the new Woolworth
Building at 940 Willamette St. The store expects to open
April 4. A Brazilian costs $70 the first time but only $50 for
“maintenance.” What’s a Brazilian wax job? Use your
imagination or read all about it at urbanwaxx.com. “It’s
impossible to make us blush,” reads the website.
Biologist and “It’s About Time” author and illustrator
David Wagner will lead a workshop on “Draw Your Own
Nature-Themed Greeting Cards” from 1 to 4 pm Saturday,
March 15, at the yurt in Alton Baker Park. The event is a
fundraiser for the nonprofit Nearby Nature. Contact info@
nearbynature.org or call 687-9699.
REVIEW OF FRISKING CASE
PROMPTS POLICE TRAINING
The Eugene Police Department’s Civilian Review
Board (CRB) has reviewed two cases that were filed with
the Eugene Police Auditor’s office in the past nine months
regarding allegations of officers unlawfully frisking Afri-
can-American women.
On Feb. 11 the CRB discussed a case in which a male
officer patted down a female while her car was being im-
pounded for not having insurance. Police Auditor Mark
Gissiner says pat-down searches can only be performed if
the officer has reasonable suspicion that the person is armed
and dangerous or if he or she is being taken into custody.
“I found, based on her behavior, no reasonable sus-
picion that she was armed or dangerous,” Gissiner says.
“And because they turned off their ICV [in-car video] to
have a discussion about strategy and then forgot to turn it
back on again, there’s no indication that she consented in
either case.”
The case review prompted new EPD training on when it
is appropriate to perform a pat-down search, or frisk. Police
Chief Pete Kerns says some officers were under the impres-
sion that a frisk must be performed every time a vehicle is
impounded.
“You can only frisk somebody when you have reason-
able suspicion in this unique set of circumstances that a
frisk for weapons is appropriate,” Kerns says. “But some
of them had that mistaken belief that it was automatic. It’s
not.”
Gissiner says the office receives a few complaints each
year regarding pat-down searches performed on females by
male officers. Officers are not currently required to ask for
backup from an officer of the same sex to perform a frisk,
but Gissiner says it’s good practice to request it. He adds
some officers may be deterred from asking because EPD’s
female-to-male ratio is low, and it is unlikely a female of-
ficer will be available.
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable or a waste of time, and I
think it’s what the community would want — particularly
the female community for the most part,” Gissiner says.
He estimates the Police Auditor’s office receives 10
complaints every year in which the reporting parties allege
they were searched because of their race.
Chris Wig, CRB member and vice chair of the Dem-
ocratic Party of Lane County, says currently anecdotal
evidence is all that is available to assess the legitimacy of
claims that racial profiling is occurring. He says the race
and gender data collection process EPD is embarking on
will provide proof of whether officers are profiling citizens.
“I think there is a broad consensus in this community,”
Wig says, “including amongst the leadership and rank-and-
file officers in the police department, that [racial profiling]
is not OK.” — Missy Corr
CONTROVERSIAL MCKENZIE
WATER PERMIT DENIED
Though speculating on water is illegal, WaterWatch of
Oregon says Willamette Water Company was looking to do
just that back in 2008 when it applied for a permit to with-
draw 22 million gallons per day from the McKenzie River.
On March 7, the Oregon Water Resources Department
(WRD) issued a final order denying the Willamette Water
Co.’s controversial application to control a large amount of
the McKenzie’s water.
Lisa Brown, staff attorney for WaterWatch of Oregon,
which fought the permit, says, “Under Oregon law, Ore-
gon’s waters belong to the public — not to private water
companies hoping to profit by monopolizing the resource
for future sale.” The McKenzie is the water source for the
city of Eugene.
Developer Greg Demers owns Willamette Water in
partnership with the McDougal brothers; these developers
The nonprofit Reality Kitchen has gone through big
changes since it began in the Whiteaker neighborhood,
then moved out to West 11th and is now in the former Wild
Plum Bakery building at 645 River Rd. Reality Kitchen’s
mission is to provide job skills training and a supportive
gathering place for young adults with intellectual and
developmental disabilities. To finance that mission, the
organization runs a bakery and food service and puts on
events. Businesses served include Sam Bond’s Garage,
Tap and Growler, Rye Restaurant, Bricks in the 5th St. Public
Market, Mothership Food Cart, Sam’s Place and Sam’s on
Franklin, Agate Lab, LCC Food Services, Growler Guys, Grid
Iron, Stacy’s Covered Bridge, Ax and Fiddle, Village Green
and Blairally Vintage Arcade. The new location also serves
as an incubator for other small businesses. Contact Jim
Evangelista or visit realitykitchen.org.
POLLUTION UPDATE
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
recently sent PeaceHealth a warning letter for hazardous
waste law violations discovered by DEQ during an
unannounced inspection last month at Sacred Heart
Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield. The facility is
classified as a “small quantity generator” of hazardous
waste because it generates between 220 and 2,000
pounds of hazardous waste per month. Violations included
hazardous waste-filled containers positioned so tightly
together that they could not be inspected for leaks; failure
to submit a hazardous waste contingency plan to fire,
police and other emergency responders; failure to keep
hazardous waste containers closed; failure to inspect
hazardous waste on a weekly basis (including inspecting
waste only once during some months); and failure to store
mercury waste in proper containers and to label those
containers. DEQ is giving PeaceHealth the opportunity to
correct the violations, and has requested a written
response documenting corrective measures by April 5.
Doug Quirke/Oregon Clean Water Action Project
8
March 13, 2014 • eugeneweekly.com
HAPPENING TEACHERS
BY PAUL NEEVEL
JULIA HARVEY
Born and raised in Eugene, Julia Harvey got interested
in marine biology as a second-grader at Spring Creek
School. “We did a unit on marine mammals,” she recalls.
“In fourth and fifth grade, we went to see tide pools and
the aquarium.” Harvey took every science course
available at South Eugene High School, then enrolled at
Occidental College in L.A. “We shared a boat with other
small colleges,” she says. “We went out of Long Beach
Harbor every other Friday for fish studies.” She graduated
in 1990, joined the Peace Corps and found herself
teaching high school science in an island village in the
Kingdom of Tonga. “The students were respectful and
eager to learn,” says Harvey, who stayed three years, fell
in love with teaching, then got into a Peace Corps
fellowship program at Wichita State University and
earned a master’s in education. “I moved back to Eugene
the next day.” Since 1999, she has taught biology and
environmental science at her alma mater, South Eugene.
“We take lots of field trips,” she says. “The kids develop
protocol, do research and present results.” For three
weeks last summer, Harvey lived her dreams of marine
biology research as a NOAA Teacher at Sea. She served
aboard the NOAA ship Oscar Dyson as a crew member on
a walleye pollock survey in the Gulf of Alaska. Search
“Julia Harvey NOAA” to find her detailed blog.